William doty



(No Model.)

W. DOTY. STEAM FLUB GLBANBR.

Patented Aprf8 WITNESSES 'me malus #uns co., mom-umu., vusnmamu, n. c.

VUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.4

IVILLIAM DOTY, OF CHILLICOTHE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF TIVO-THIRDS TO IVILLIAMLh/IILLER, OF SAME PLACE.

STEAM FLU E-CLEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 425,165, dated April8, 1890.

Application iled February 5, 1890. Serial No. 339,328. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM DOTY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chillicothe,in thecountyof Ross and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam Fine-Cleaners; andI do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to steam-boilers; and it consists in an improveddevice for cleaning the tubes or nues, as hereinafter described, andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

Fine-cleaners have long been in use in which a jet of steam is theagency by which the dirt and scale are removed. In some of these the jethas been given a whirling motion like a rifle-ball, to more effectuallyloosen the foreign substances in the ues. In all these, however, so taras I am aware, the whirling motion has been imparted to the steam duringits passage through a comparatively short portion of the nozzle, andthat at the delivery end thereof. I nd in practice that the spiralblades or twists in the nozzle tend to check the tlow of steam at thepoint where they begin, which causes more or less condensation -of thesteam at that point, especiallyT when the steam is first turned on.There is also a checking of the flow when the nozzle is applied to anobstructed tube or flue. The water thus formed is blown into the tubesor iiues, where it iningles with the dirt and ashes and forms a muddydeposit that adheres tenaciously and is extremely difficult to dislodge.

My invention aims to get rid of all the water of condensation at thepoint where it forms and to deliver only dry steam to the tubes.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of the tire-box and rearportion of a boiler with my line-cleaner inserted into one of thetubes'. Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section, of my nozzle; .and Fig. 3is an end view of the 5o nozzle on a larger scale.

The bore of thenozzle A is preferably cylindrical, and is provided witha number of spiral ribs a, preferably three, as shown, running the wholelength of the nozzle. The passage-way is thus of the same sizethroughout, so that there will be no choking of the flow of steam afterit enters the nozzle. The pitch of the ribs may be varied; but I preferto give them one complete rotation in about every nine inches. The ribsare of the same height throughout, so that the clear space inside ofthem (indicated by the central white space in Fig. 3) will not vary. Thebase of the nozzle is shouldered and screw-threaded, in order that itmay be tightly secured to a T-union B. To the upper end of this union isconnected a flexible hose O, through which steam may be conveyed to thenozzle.

Directly below the end of the hose C is an automatic drip-valve. Thisconsists, preferably, of a head D, to which may be attached a stem (l,sliding loosely in thebore e of a tubular plug E, which is tapped intothe`lower end of the union B. The plug is 4preferably provided with asquared head e fora wrench. The inner end of the plug is faced off toform a seat for the face of the valve. A spring F is coiled in the boreof the plug, one end of the spring being made fast to the valve or itsstem, the other end being secured to the plug. The spring is arranged tohold the valve normally open, as shown, but is calculated to close undera suitable pressure of the steam.

The union B is provided with a handle G long enough to enable thecleaner to be inserted into the tubes through the furnacedoor, as shown.

The operation of my device is as follows: Vhen steam is turned into thehose C, it enters the union B, where it is checked by thespirally-ribbed nozzle A, and a portion of it `is condensed.

the open valveD until the nozzle has warmed up and the flow of thewhirling steam-jet has been established. The back-pressure in the unionB, caused by inserting the nozzle into an obstructed tube, is sufficientto close the valveD and hold it. The water of condensation forming afterthis will collect above the valve and will be blown out as often as theThe water blows out through IOO nozzle is removed from a tube and thebacio pressure on the valve is relieved. 3y this arrangement none butdry steam will be delivered to the tubes, and the difficultiesoccasioned by moist steam are entirely obviated.

My automatic drip-valve can be used to advantage with nozzles of anyconstruction, though I regard it as especially well adapted for those inwhich a whirling motion is given to the jet. A

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s-

1. A steam-jet liuc-cleaner having a nozzle containing a cylindricalpassage-Way provided with spirally-arranged ribs extending from one endto the other, whereby the flow of steam is not choked after it entersthe nozzie, substantially as described.

El. A steam-jet flue-cleaner provided with an automatic drip-valve forthe escape of the water of condensation, substantially as described.

3. A steam-jet Hue-cleaner having a noz '/.le adapted to give the jet awhirling motion and an automatic drip-valve situated at the base of saidnozzle, substantially as described.

4. In a steam-jet flue-cleaner, the combination, with thespirally-ribbed nozzle A, of the T-union B and the automatic drip-valveD, located at the lower end of the union, substantially as described.

5. In a steam-jet flue-cleaner, the combination, with the nozzle A, ofthe union B, the tubular plug l, tapped into one end of said union, thevalve D, adapted to seat against the inner end of the plug, and thespring F, attached to the valve and to the plug, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

l WILLtAM no'rv.

niark lVitnesses:

ROBERT D. MeDoUcAL, UHAs. CHAPMAN.

